Workmen's advocate., 1887-05-14
FORBIDDEN TOPICS.
THE RELIGION OF THE LA
 BOR MOVEMENT.
The Hobbies of Our Enemies-NOt For Us to Ride-Aboliti0n of Taxes on Lab0r-Our Tarifi,-The Brotherhood of Man
 Reason.
BY DR. A DOuAI.

There are topics of discussion which should be forbidden ground in labor platforms and labor pap CTS and agitation, at least for the present. We refer to religion, tinan- cial policy, tariff agitation and na- tional antiquities All these topics are among the things which belong to a time when there was hardly any struggle between Labor and Capital. They form concerns which split the capitalistic world into sccts, accord ing to the different interests within the ruling classes they do not con- cern the real interests of Labor, which are unsectarian, and can be advanced by unitication of the disin- herited only. They were invented for the very purpose of dlsuniting laborers and workers generally into hostile nationalities, creeds, parties, sexes. They are hobbies of our com mon enemies which we should not ride and fondle.
 Cur religion should be that of the common brotherhood of all men to defend them as against the common lawful and lawless robbers-or rather their institutions. Our nationality should be that of the peaceful toilers of every country as against the origi- nators of war and exploitation in every country. Our financial policy should be that of justice in dividing all labor and all burdens of society according to the ability of bearing them on the part of every individual and our tariff should be an abolition of all taxes on work and its fruit.
 Just now there is spreading re. ligious revival through the labor world winch claims to be a religion without creed, church, ritual, na tionality, He religion of common brotherhood. Although it is q Catholic priest, Dr. McGlynn, who professes his belief in Cathol icisn forever, while calling us all to a participation in the brotherhood tc be founded-it is a movement out side of all that is commonly dignifed or villifed by the name of religion. It partakes of religion in so far only as it sets us acOrhing as brothers and sisters for the universal reign ol brotherhood and the abolition ot poverty, and as it kindles that en. thuslasm which is one of the charac teristics of the Me0l movements il all history.
 The capitalistic press has not beer slow to denounce and ridicule thi undertaking. It forgets entirely, il so doing that the religion of Jesus Christ (and, in a narrower sense also that of Moses and Buddha) wa just the same kind of religion, a long at least, as 1t was young aG, unadulteratel. It forgets that al nations and tribes of mankind had at an early period of its existence brotherly institutions of a commun istic kind under which equal rights to all its members and a common participation in all its property were youchsafed. Traces of this state O things have survived to a late epoch and great investigators have shOwr them up, among most nations anC often when and where this commun ism had gone down through wars 0 conquest and the formation of ruling and ruled classes, efforts were under taken to revive it. We will prov this assertion in a future article But it is especially odious on tn part of protesting Christians to ridi cule and condemn what the fonnd CTS of their religion and the God Man of their creed has intended t establish, though his intentions wer spoiled after a few hundred years.
 Our age needs religious enthusiasm for the sake of common brother